This invention relates to chemical formulations that can be incorporated into various materials in order to impart antimicrobial and chemical deactivating properties to the surfaces. Exposure to chemical and biological warfare agents (CBW) is of great concern to the soldiers and civilians as they could be totally vulnerable to such unexpected events. (Chemical Engineering News, July 1999). The various agents that could have a devastating effect on the population as well as the attending medical personnel. Even if the person's skin and face are protected, adsorption of the CBW agents could occur on their masks and clothing which may tend to linger on the surfaces leading to dangerous contamination of their surroundings as well as any open wounds or scratches. It is therefore extremely important that the clothing the soldiers or civilians wear have contact biocidal activity against the live BW (Biological warfare) agents and catalytic activity to destroy the CW (Chemical warfare) agents as well. Such clothing should be light with a high moisture vapor permeation rate and impermeable to the CBW agents.
Extensive non-military applications of this invention which can be incorporated into variety of special fabrics, offering an invisible shield against toxic vapors and germs are imminent. Examples are tents, boots, socks, paper-towels, sponges, respirators; hospital masks, sheets, garments for HAZ-Mat operations, and suits.
While activated carbon has been used in several of these applications, the carbon tends to retain the toxic ingredients or organisms and therefore is not desirable. A carbon-free “in situ” deactivating materials for suits for chemical and biological warfare agents is of great value to our nation.
Chemical weapons can be delivered as solids, liquids, vapors or aerosols by every major weapon system. They are classified by their duration and by their relationship to physiological effects. The barrier effectiveness of particular clothing to a particular chemical/mixture is dependent on the specific interactions between the clothing and the chemical/mixture. This is in turn is determined by the formulation of the clothing material, its method of manufacture, and its thickness. Temperature and other conditions can also influence the interactions. The key parameters that are of concern are
The solubility of the chemical/aerosol mixture in the clothing material
The breakthrough time of the chemical/aerosol for the material
The permeation rate of the chemical/aerosol through the material.
Solubility is the weight of material absorbed by a known weight of material. In general chemicals having solubilities >10% rapidly permeate the rubber or the plastic. Many systems developed for food packing consist of multiple polymer layers where individual layers act as barriers to different permeants. These will include gas barriers, oil barriers, adhesive layers and printable layers. The CBW problem is more difficult in that good barrier polymers are often stiff, where as a flexible material is desired. Also elastomers tend to have weak internal bonding and so are naturally compatible with, and permeable to, organics. Likewise most elastomers will be less permeable to water than to organics. Finally, good moisture permeability implies some water swelling and so a significant change in properties with changes in humidity.
Permeation is expressed as a product of the diffusion coefficient and solubility of the permeant in the given polymer P=D.S.
Also, while D can be correlated with molecular size quite well, S varies enormously depending upon the solubility parameter of the molecule.
Biological weapons delivered in the form of aerosols are more long lasting than the chemical weapons and can propagate and infect the victims very quickly.
Biocidal agents can affect bacterial cells in a variety of ways:
                Protein coagulation. Most of the proteins in the bacterial cell are enzymatic, and exist in a finely dispersed state within the cell. Disinfecting chemicals such as heavy metals that cause these proteins to precipitate and coagulate make the cell non-functional and cause it to die.        Disruption of cell membrane. The cell membrane acts as a selective barrier, allowing some solutions to pass through and other to be adsorbed onto the cell wall. Substances that concentrate at the cell membrane may alter the physical and chemical properties of the membrane, preventing its normal function. This may result in inhibition or death of the cell.        Removal of free sulphydryl groups. Many of the enzyme proteins in a cell contain cysteine (an amino acid) and have side chains terminating in sulphydryl groups. These enzymes cannot function unless the sulphydryl groups remain free and reduced. If the sulphydryl groups are tied down—for example, by an oxidizing agent such as chlorine or heavy metals—wide spread damage to the cell occurs, and death may result.        Enzymes and antibiotics perform their function through their affinity for specific chemical compounds normally found within cells, referred to as their “natural substrates.” If a disinfecting compound structurally resembles a substrate in its essential aspects, the enzyme will have an affinity for that compound.        
It is therefore the principal object of this invention is to provide chemical compositions that contain biocidal and catalytic properties for the “in situ” deactivation and destruction of biological and chemical agents respectively.
Another aspect of this invention is to provide formulations containing nanosize particles and carbon nanotubes that could potentially provide a very large surface area of contact.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide these formulations for polymers, fibers and fabrics.
Yet another aspect of this present invention is to provide a laminating layer in the composite membrane that would allow water vapor to permeate while completely blocking organic vapors.
Another aspect of this invention is to provide a high surface area for this laminating polymer by cross-linking it on high area substrates such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black or nanophase oxides such as titanium oxide or such.
Another aspect of this present invention is to provide methodologies for incorporating the formulations from this invention in printing inks and shades during the printing of fabrics made from natural and/or synthetic fibers.
Another aspect of this present invention is to provide a finish coating incorporating the formulations from this invention, on a fabric or a surface.
Another aspect of this invention is to provide compositions for use with high area materials such as carbon fabric, felt, carbon blacks, carbon nanotubes and other high area materials for use in masks.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a “triple defense” system where antimicrobials provide the biocidal actions, the catalytic materials provide chemical deactivation and the laminating layer provides a physical barrier to chemical vapors while allowing moisture.